Growing evidence shows that participation in out-of-school time (OST) activities positively supports youth development in general. However, simply participating in a self-identified STEM program is not sufficient. Youth will benefit more if they participate in "quality" afterschool programs. Therefore, a common understanding of quality…

The Exploratorium is home to XTech, a science education program which began in 2006 and was primarily funded by a three-year National Science Foundation grant (Award # 05-25217) through its ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) initiative. XTech provided project-based afterschool activities in science, engineering,…

This paper reports on the evaluation of six pilot programs conducted in four Texas school districts to provide summer and after-school instruction for 2,084 students. The programs are described in terms of commonalities--cost, morale, transportation; and differences or contrasts--scheduling, cost, student identification, program philosophy,…